The Public Service Enterprise Group, the developer behind the proposed Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project, submitted an application to the Maryland Public Service Commission Tuesday. Now, residents are holding their breath, waiting to see what the future holds for the proposed almost 70-mile transmission line that would span through Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties.

“So every step, it’s like getting worse,” said Amanda Green, owner of Green Valley Farm in Carroll County. She said the proposed route for the transmission line would cross her property.

“You know, the feeling, the thoughts, what are we going to do? How can we stop it? I mean, we all have to come together to stop it. One of us isn’t going to do it,” she added.

For months, transmission officials behind the project said it was necessary to create a reliable grid due to growing energy demands in the region. In the application, PSEG said, “If the MPRP is not constructed, and these adverse transmission system conditions are left unaddressed, then millions of electric customers across multiple states, including in Maryland, will be at risk for system collapse and blackout conditions.”

The application continued to say, “the MPRP will provide substantial benefits to Maryland’s electric customers, Maryland’s economy, and will advance Maryland’s public policy goals. Reliable electric transmission is not only vital to Maryland electric customers and Maryland’s economy, but it is also an essential component of successful electrification policies, including transportation sector electrification. The MPRP will also bring substantial commercial activity and expenditures to Maryland, adding a net value of $306 million, which represents direct, indirect, and induced positive economic impacts over an assumed 30 years of operations, and produce 1,709 full-time employment value during construction of the MPRP.”

At the same time, the application also acknowledges that data center development is a “significant cause of the increase in load growth.”

“This project is needed to preserve grid reliability for Maryland consumers as electricity demand increases and generation resources are retiring both in the state and in the broader PJM region,” said Paul McGlynn, Vice President of Planning at PJM. “The MPRP was selected because it solves the reliability need with the least amount of infrastructure development required, has cost containment in place, and is slated to have a much stronger system performance than any other alternative.”

At various public meetings held over the last few months, when pressed for information about specific benefits to Marylanders, PSEG officials have not been able to provide clear information about how much energy carried by the proposed transmission line, will actually stay in Maryland to be used by residents.

For Green, her family farm is currently in conservation easements.

“It’s kind of like a breach of trust, more than anything, that you hope they’re there to protect you, and then they could possibly just actually turn over and give it away anyway,” Green said.

Maryland Sen. Benjamin Brooks, who represents Baltimore County, plans to propose legislation in the upcoming session to protect property owners. The legislation, if passed, would prohibit the state from taking property that is part of a conservation easement.

“What the law says right now, if it’s for the public good, you know, then then the state can come in and do that,” Brooks said.

“I think the landowner has a right. The conservation organization has a right, and we want to protect those rights,” he added.

With an application filed, after a series of hearings, the Public Service Commission will decide to approve the project or not.

“It’s like an indescribable feeling, because you feel like kind of helpless, like, man, I hope that the Public Service Commission can help us. I hope they can see that this isn’t OK,” Green said.